Sunday, 28 August 2011

Saving money and not shopping

Shoepocalypse - a whole heap of STUFF

As I mentioned before, The Beard and I are making some big life changes next year. In order to do this, we need to save some money. As a result, I'm being forced to rethink my sometimes extravagant spending habits! I have been doing a lot of economising lately, trying to shave £££s off our monthly expenditure where possible, things like finding a cheaper mobile deal, reducing the cost of our broadband package because we didn't need the level of service we were paying for, arranging to work from home 2 days a week to save me petrol. But it just hasn't been enough.

Last week a slightly expensive trip to the health food store for essentials made me think about how I could continue to justify some of the spending I do, when we have a need to save. At pretty much the same time, Sal at Already Pretty was posting about ways to not shop. She too is preparing for a big life change, and needs to save furiously for it. I like some of her suggestions, such as creating stuff rather than buying (having made space for my sewing I am all into this) and setting myself challenges to alleviate boredom. I completely recognise my boredom driven shopping urges, and this is definitely something to work on!

The answer I came up with is that there are certain things I can't stop buying. And I do need to buy some things this winter, like a new pair of boots, and some new work clothes. But... for everything I spend, I have to be able to economise elsewhere. So, I need to stop spending £45 a quarter on mascara
(any recommendations for a black, waterproof, bunny friendly mascara that is under £10 are very welcome!).

I'm really trying hard to economise. It is hard. Our household income is pretty good for our area, and our age bracket. I work hard, and I suppose that is why I have found it really, really hard to knuckle down and start saving/stop spending. A part of me feels as if I deserve to buy these things, to have this lifestyle, because I work hard to get it. Theoretically we can afford it. In reality, we have debts to pay off and we need to save, before we make our change.

The way I am thinking about it is by reminding myself that every penny I spend now unnecessarily, is a penny less for my new furniture in my new home. That might make the difference between having or not having that particular item that I want. So economy is my new friend.

I'm also trying to find a groove, find my style, my purpose again. The last 4 years have been a whirlwind of change and growth for me, and I am finally settling into a place where I'm comfortable with who I am and what I like. I'm starting to find my place and I think, I hope, that I will find the strength to put down the credit card and just be happy with what I have.

1 comment:

It's so hard to break a habit like this isn't it! I love shopping as well, but for me Internet shopping/eBay is my downfall, and the trouble is its always so accessible. We've had to tighten our belts since having Ethan and only having one income and it is so hard once you've got used to allowing yourself to spend what on want! Keep plugging away at it, it'll be worth it :)